Twilight Goes to Dalaran

by Leila Drake

Level 9 - Diplomacy

They left the citadel behind and soon approached a patch of clouds hanging in the sky. As the sun climbed higher, the clouds slowly dissipated, revealing a gigantic city.

Twilight felt like she was coming home: Tall towers pierced the sky, elegant white buildings with golden balusters and balconies stood closely together bearing purple, red or blue domes. Long purple flags blew in the wind, windriders and griffins flew about, taking off or landing on a circular terrace-like structure on the edge of the city. A majestic blue dragon landed on the terrace, folding its wings. Trees and bushes surrounded the city walls and opposite the terrace, on the other side of the city, there was a small park.

"Here we are", shouted Priest over the wind. "This is Dalaran, city of the magical order of the Kirin Tor, and that big building is the Violet Citadel. The leader of the Kirin Tor is a human mage, Jaina Proudmoore. This is where the real trouble begins, Twilight."

They flew around the city to lose altitude and Twilight discovered that Dalaran was actually floating in midair. It stood on an enormous lump of rock and earth as if someone had digged it out somewhere and been uncertain where to but it afterwards. A faint glow covered the city and Twilight recognized it as a protective force field.

"I think I am going to like this city", she shouted.

"Wait for it", warned Priest.

The terrace came into sight again and they glided down to it. The windriders roared and Tak dismounted from his ride. Priest unbuckled the belt and jumped off his wyvern as well. Twilight stretched her own wings and flew off the beast.

A blonde elf greeted them and offered to take care of the mounts.

"Greetings, Master Whitecloud. We're coming from Taunka'le", said Tak. "Please keep them here so we can use them again later."

The elf nodded and called for assistance. Two humans approached with blankets and meat for the beasts.

Master Whitecloud leaned closer to Tak and whispered, "I'd be careful if I were you. The Horde is not very welcome here anymore."

The tauren nodded. "I'll remember that."

He beckoned Twilight and Priest to follow him.

They walked through the city in silence. It was mainly occupied by elves, humans and a race similar to humans but as small as Twilight – gnomes. They eyed the new arrivals suspiciously, some humans showing open hostility.

"What's going on?" asked Twilight.

"Ignore them", said Priest. "They're just envious for my good looks."

"Over there", said Tak suddenly.

They walked around a corner and beheld the Violet Citadel. It was a building consisting of several towers standing closely together. The spire in the middle of the elegant castle was not only the tallest of the Citadel but also of Dalaran itself.

Twilight still felt the piercing looks of the citizens in her back as they climbed the stairs to the portal. It was not locked; Tak pushed one door open and as soon as they had entered the entrance hall, the portal closed by itself with a click. A large stairway led up to a balcony and everything was illuminated by small torches that hung on either side of each door in the room.

"Phew", sighed Tak. "Now, Twilight, how would you like to proceed? I bet someone will come here soon. We could either talk to an experienced mage or seek out the libr-"

"The library, please", said Twilight quickly and with an enthusiasm that made Priest shake his head.

A door opened and a human robed in a purple tabard with a yellow eye stitched on it entered. His short brown hair looked as if he had just gotten out of bed. He cleared his throat nervously when he saw them, obviously not used to visitors this tall or purple – or dead.

"Welcome to the Violet Citadel", he said. "Can I help you with something?"

Tak opened his mouth but Twilight was faster. She stepped forward, smiling at the befuddled wizard.

"Hello, good sir. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am an alicorn from a distant land and I had a portal accident recently. Now I am stuck here but I really want to get home. Would it be possible to get access to some books on portal magic?" she asked.

Priest facepalmed and Tak let out a little cough.

"What?", demanded Twilight, confused. "Isn't it best to try with the truth?"

The human paled and stuttered, "Please excuse me for a moment." He hurried back to where he came from.

"Oh, Twilight", groaned Tak, "That was not very clever. The Kirin Tor don't give away books on magic just like that – but portals are an especially delicate subject! Couldn't you have asked just for access to the library or something...?"

Twilight blushed and hung her head. "Sorry."

Priest pointed at the door with his thumb. "That guy's been away for quite a while now. Kinda suspicious if you ask me..."

"I have a bad feeling about this", mumbled Tak.

The door opened again and the mage entered again.

His hair looked less messy now but the unreadable expression on his face was not an improvement.

"Follow me, please", he said.

The wizard led them into a large room at the backside of the hall. It was completely round, very high and hardly decorated. Torches lined up along the bare stone walls lit up the room just enough to move around safely.

"Wait here", requested the mage, then left the room again.

Tak's ears twitched as he walked around the room, trying to calm himself.

Twilight looked up to the ceiling. High above a circular window allowed a look into the night sky. She blinked, then looked again.

The sky was bright again, still no light from above reached the bottom of the room.

She shook her head.

The door opened and a female elf entered. She had long silvery hair and wore a robe similar to the mage's. It also bore the yellow eye on purple ground. An air of authority was around her and even though her face had no wrinkles she did not seem to be young anymore. Twilight felt distantly reminded of Princess Celestia.
The woman did not smile as she said, "Welcome to the library. Mr Cordelius told me you are seeking access to certain books. Is that correct?"

Tak looked at Twilight who opened her mouth, then closed it again. He sighed. "Go ahead, little one."

She nodded and repeated her request.

The elf looked at her suspiciously, frowning. "I have never encountered your kind before. If I may ask... what land are you from?"

"It's called Equestria", said Twilight. "I was in a city named Canterlot. My mentor and I created a portal trying to build a bridge between worlds - and we succeded. But when I entered it, it became unstable and I landed somewhere else than I had intended. Tak told me that you call this place Azeroth."

She stopped, looking at Tak and Priest. They remained silent. She was not sure how much she should reveal. Would Celestia talk this openly to a mage of another world?

The elf raised her eyebrows. "Where did you intend to land then?", she asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. C- my mentor was the one who defined the direction of the portal, I just helped to open it. We didn't expect it to close this fast, in fact, we intended to keep it open for a longer period of time. If the world on the other side would have had friendly inhabitants, this would have been a great chance for both worlds."

"Please take no offense, Twilight Sparkle", said the elf, "but this sounds a little naive to me to be the truth. History has shown us that when someone opens a portal, they normally intend to either travel one way or – if they keep it open – to use it to invade the world beyond. If what you say is true and you are really from another world, I must take this matter to Lady Proudmoore herself. This cannot be taken lightly."

Twilight nodded. "I understand. Is she here at the moment? Can I talk to her?"

"Of course not", replied the elf, raising an eyebrow.

Twlight hung her head, her ears down.

The woman's expression softened. "Do not worry. I will take your request for help to her as soon as she arrives."

"Thank you very much!" said Twilight. "Could you give me an estimation of when she might return?"

"In about six weeks, for the celebration of Winter's Veil."

"Oh. ...Would it be possible to check some books in the meantime? This way I could do some research in advance and find out what went wrong."

The elf thought for a moment. She raised her left arm, palm upwards, and mumbled a few words. A transparent orb of blue glass appeared in her hand. It shone brightly and steadily. She examined it and said, "Very well. It seems that you told the truth after all."
Then she made the orb disappear again.

Priest frowned. "I didn't know there were any spells like this, only truth potions. What's going on here?"

The woman pointed down at the floor beneath their feet. There was a circle drawn into the stone, marked with strange symbols and lines.

Twilight shivered. They had been standing inside a magic circle all the time.

The elf was the only one outside it. "If you were of small power, a single word of untruth would have trapped you", she explained.

Tak groaned. "I knew something fishy was going on! What is this all about?" He stepped closer to the elf who raised her arms in defense and took a step back.

"However", she said loudly, "you have proven yourselves worthy. Therefore I, Lilandra Eventide, head librarian of the Violet Citadel, will grant you access to this part of the Grand Library." She gestured again, saying some words in a foreign language.

Suddenly the room filled with dark wooden shelves that went all the way up to the ceiling. Colorful carpets appeared at the floor and the torches' light increased, now illuminating the entire room with a golden light. A few smaller carpets floated a few inches above the ground, ready to carry visitors to any spot in the library. Tables set themselves up, equipped with ink, quills and empty scrolls.

The elf spoke again and the shelves filled with books af all kinds and sizes.

"I think you might find some hints in the upper left section of shelf sixty-eight b", said the librarian and smiled.